


Frienemies

by Esti7310



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Good lord what am I doing with my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 14:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5931991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esti7310/pseuds/Esti7310
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do when you finally get to know an old family nemesis in front of your locker? Pretend to date them just for kicks, obviously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clearly suck at titles and summaries. Anyway. This ship doesn't get much love, but I'm a little obsessed with it and this fandom doesn't have enough lesbians, so I wrote a fake dating AU (the fake dating part comes up in the next chapter). I'm not sure how great this is, but I'm having fun with it. Enjoy!

Angelica Hamilton could not have been more relieved to finally be finished with her math midterm exam. She wasn’t sure it had gone very well, but it wasn’t like she had expected it to – she had long ago accepted that she’d have to scrape through math and let her English and French grades bring up her GPA.

The hallways were empty already. Angelica’s teacher had allowed her to take an extra twenty minutes on the test, which was a relief – she was nowhere near done when the regular exam block ended. She had missed the bus, though, which meant walking home in the snow. She headed to her locker as fast as she could, only to see a tall black girl with bushy brown curls leaning against it and reading a book. Angelica recognized her immediately.

“Burr.”

The girl glanced up and then back down to her book, nothing in her expression changing.

“Angelica,” she said flatly.

“What’re you doing?”

“Waiting for a friend.”

“In front of my locker?”

“Why would I know which locker is yours, Angelica?”

“Can you just move?” Angelica was getting frustrated. Her dad was right – you just couldn’t have a conversation with a Burr.

“What’s the magic word?” said Theodosia with just a small edge of sarcasm.

“I swear, Burr-”

Theodosia finally met Angelica’s eye, smirking, and took a half step to the side of the locker. It struck Angelica that maybe she’d been joking, that maybe this was just how Theodosia interacted with people. She had heard quite a bit about the socially awkward Burr family, and Theodosia was usually quiet, which meant they’d never really had a conversation before, and when they had, the chats had been short and had occurred at some fancy gala.

Angelica met the smirk with a glare and stepped forward, twisting the combination lock and pulling the handle. The bottom latch clicked open, but the one at the top of the locker wouldn’t move. She slammed it shut and tried again with the same results.

“Need help there?”

Angelica groaned. “It’s fine, I got it. The old ones just stick sometimes.”

The door still wouldn’t budge on the third try. Angelica felt a surprisingly soft hand on her forearm, and looked up to see that smirk back on Theodosia’s face. She nudged past Angelica and took the lock.

“What’s your combination?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your combination.”

“Why?”

“Have you heard of helping people, Angie? Being nice?”

“Oh, because you’re doing such a great job being nice,” said Angelica. She couldn’t help herself – her favorite way to fight sarcasm was sarcasm. “I don’t need help. I’ll get it.”

“Really? Because attempts one, two, and three didn’t go so well. Unless you want to walk home without a jacket, in which case, goodbye.”

Angelica huffed out a breath. She just wanted to get home. “It’s 17-7-60.”

Theodosia pressed her knee against the bottom half of the locker, twisted in the combination, and pulled at the handle. It took a minute, but after lots of tugging, the top lock banged open. Theodosia leaned back against the locker next to Angelica’s.

“I’ve got the magic locker touch,” she said as Angelica grabbed her jacket and stuffed her math notebook as far back as it would go – she didn’t even want to look at it over the long weekend – and pulled out her camera bag for her photography class. It was hard to avoid brushing against Theodosia’s arm as she reached for books, which Angelica found incredibly frustrating, though she couldn’t put a finger on why.

“I’m glad you’ve found such a wonderful talent,” said Angelica. “Locker opening. That’ll get you places.”

“I’ll just add it to the talent list,” said Theodosia.

“But why keep a one-item list?”

Theodosia looked like she was trying not to smile. “You’re more fun when your personality shows,” she observed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You went from actual rude to joking-rude. Joking-rude you is a lot easier to make fun of.”

“I’m honored to be your sarcasm target,” said Angelica, not really appreciating the brutal honesty from someone she’d barely ever talked to.

“It looks like I’m yours, too.”

“Perfect,” said Angelica. “I’m glad we found common ground.” She slung her camera bag over her shoulder and closed the locker door. “I have to go.”

Angelica turned to leave and felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun and looked up at Theodosia. “ _What,_ Burr?”

“Do you want a ride?”

“I thought you were waiting for someone.”

“Looks like they’re not coming.”

Angelica frowned and hesitated.

“Oh, just come on, you live close to me and it’s a long walk,” said Theodosia, grabbing Angelica’s upper arm and pulling her forward. Angelica pulled her arm away.

“Fine.”

“You know, most people would be thanking me for the offer.”

“Don’t push it, Burr.”

“You can call me Theo.”

“Don’t push it, _Theo._ ” Angelica saw Theo smirk at that as she followed her outside into the senior parking lot.

Theo wasted no time in firing questions at Angelica in the car.

“So why were you staying late?”  


"I was finishing up math. It's not my strong suit."

Theo raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Perfect Angie has a not-perfect subject?”

Angelica rolled her eyes. “I’m good at writing and stuff. Just not anything with numbers. I like English and French and journalism. And debate, but that’s not a class. It should be, though.”

“Sounds just like your dad.”

Angelica felt like the tension already between them had just doubled. They had gotten this far without killing each other, and she didn’t think bringing up the old family feud was the best way to keep that going.

“Do I,” said Angelica cooly, phrasing it as more of a statement than a question. “Have you even spoken to him?”

“At many a dinner party,” she said. There was a moment of quiet.

“I guess what I meant was that it sounds like my dad’s description of your dad,” said Theo.

“Because that’s a reliable, unbiased source.”

“Jeez, Angie, chill. I’m just saying, I’m not trying to pick a fight.”

“You want me to _chill_?” said Angelica, slightly pissed off. No one told Angelica Hamilton to chill and no one called her Angie, and doing both in the same sentence was downright dangerous, especially if you were a Burr.

“Oh my god, I swear I’m not trying to attack you. It would be nice if you could do the same.”

Angelica huffed out a breath, not entirely believing that Theo's intentions hadn't been just a little hostile. 

“Whatever.”

“I’m sorry if I offended you or something.”

Angelica was taken aback. “You’re apologizing?”

“What, does that not sound like something my father would do?”

“No! No, that’s not…” Angelica trailed off, trying to make up an excuse. Theo wasn’t wrong – Angelica had a bit of an image of Theo in her head already from her father’s stories about Aaron Burr.

“I thought we’d just agreed our fathers’ reputations were unreliable ways to judge each other.”

Angelica didn’t say anything. She didn’t like how often Theo had been right during the conversation.

“I’m not my dad, you’re not your dad, and our families probably don’t match the stories we’ve heard,” continued Theo. She rounded a corner onto Angelica’s street and pulled up in front of the Hamilton house. Angelica climbed out and turned back before walking up the sidewalk.

“Thanks. For the ride,” said Angelica. It sounded forced even to her.

Theo’s smirk, which Angelica figured was a pretty common expression for her, had returned. “Don’t think this means we’re friends, Hamilton.”

“What makes you think I’d want to be friends?” Retorted Angelica.

“I don’t know, maybe desperation?”

“I’d have to be a whole lot more desperate to settle for you.”

Theo’s smirk faltered for a half second, but it came back as quickly as it left. “Oh, sure you would.”

Angelica grinned and waved at Theo as she drove away and jogged up to her house. She had a weird feeling in her stomach, like she’d just gotten off a roller coaster. A little surprised, a little shaky, not entirely sure what to think. Not a bad feeling, just a strange one.

“Theodosia Burr,” she whispered to herself. The name felt different on her tongue now that she could put a personality to it.

 _I might not hate her as much as I would have expected,_ she thought to herself.

“Angie!” called a younger girl, poking her head into the living room. “You’re home! You took forever.”

Angelica gave her little sister a hug. “Sorry, Ellie, the exam took a while. Where are the boys?”

“Alex took James sledding,” she answered. Now that Philip was off in college, Angelica was the oldest sibling in the Hamilton house. She had been closest with Philip, but now that he was gone she found herself spending more and more time with Ellie, her only sister. Alex was sixteen and William was ten, and while she loved both her brothers, she had never spent as much time with them as she did with Philip. Angelica rarely became attached to anyone, even siblings.

“Why didn’t you want to go sledding with the boys?” Angelica asked her sister.

“I was waiting for you. Do you have your camera?”

“Yep,” said Angelica, holding it up. She knew exactly what her sister had in mind. “You want to take some pictures in the snow?”

“Yeah!”

The girls went outside and Angelica showed Ellie how to get a good angle on the icicles hanging from the shed. It was a beautiful day for photographs. Angelica took almost sixty of the snow, the birds, and, by Ellie’s demand, her little sister.

“Make sure I look pretty,” said Ellie, sitting on the bridge over the frozen creek.

“You always look pretty,” said Angelica. It was true, too. Her sister had thick black hair that fell just to her shoulders and their mother’s bright, light brown eyes. She loved photographing just about anything, capturing moments to look back on later. Her sister often took advantage of this skill to get cute Instagram profile pictures.

Angelica was quiet as they headed inside again. Her mind had gone back around to Theo. As much as she’d poked fun at her, Angelica had to admit that talking to her had been sort of fun, and a little refreshing too. She usually had trouble connecting to new people, but with Theo it had just sort of… clicked.

“Whatcha thinking about?” asked Ellie.

“Theodosia Burr,” said Angelica absentmindedly.

“Huh?”

“She’s this girl at my school.”

“Is she dad’s friend’s daughter? The quiet one with the curly hair?”

“Yeah, that’s her. I don't know if dad and Burr are really friends, though. They're like... friendly enemies.”

Ellie shrugged. “Not to rain on your parade, but I think dad would literally disown you if you married a Burr.”

Angelica punched her sister lightly on the arm. “I’m not thinking of her like _that,_ dumby. We just talked today, that’s all.”

“Uh huh,” said Ellie. “I’m keeping an eye on you at the next dinner party.”

“Oh, shut up,” muttered Angelica. “I’m not gonna make you hot chocolate if you keep making fun of me.”

Angelica pushed aside her sister’s remarks. She did _not_ have feelings for Theodosia Burr, not after one conversation. She just liked her company, that was all. And she was positive that Theo would never have feelings for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter 1! Hope you guys liked it. I'm almost done with the next chapter, which features Philip Hamilton (who is not dead) and some fake dating.
> 
> A note on the Hamilton kids: Historically, they had eight kids, which was a whole lot more than I wanted to write and keep track of in a fic that only really involves three of them. Their daughters were named Angelica and Eliza, but I thought it would be confusing to have a different set of sisters with those names, so I shortened Elizabeth to Ellie instead of Eliza. Also, some of them were really far apart in age (Angelica and Eliza were 15 years apart), which I completely ignored. Basically, I took a whole lot of creative liberties and made some stuff up to make the story work better. Sue me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, chapter 2! Introducing some more family members and a fake-dating scheme.

Angelica woke up past noon on Saturday. She was exhausted from exam week, and would have been perfectly happy to stay in bed all day, but her growling stomach was telling her that it was time for breakfast. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table. There was a text from Philip asking how exams had gone, and one from a number she didn’t recognized. Out of curiosity, she opened the second.

 

**From unknown: Hey. Can we meet up at some point today? I need to talk to you.**

 

Angelica had no idea who it could be from. Who needed to meet with her? She considered debate teammates that might want help and younger journalism students she edited for, but she would have had their numbers.

 

**To unknown: Sorry, who is this? I don’t have your number.**

 

A reply arrived almost instantly.

 

**From unkown: Theo.**

 

This really did not make any sense. Angelica saved the number in her phone and shot back a reply.

 

**To Theo: I have so many questions about this.**

**From Theo: I need to talk to you at some point, preferably today and preferably in person.**

**To Theo: How the fuck did you get my number?**

**From Theo: I have my ways.**

**From Theo: So, meeting up.**

**To Theo: We could meet for lunch at the burger place**

**From Theo: Sounds good. 1?**

**To Theo: I’m getting out of bed for this, it better be good.**

**From Theo: I can promise it’ll be interesting**

 

Angelica hauled herself out of bed, baffled. What did Theodosia Burr need with her? The two had never even had a conversation before yesterday. Angelica dressed quickly in leggings and a sweatshirt and hurried downstairs.

“She’s alive!” joked Ellie, catching sight of Angelica. “We thought you’d sleep forever.”

“Hey, Ellie. Morning, Mom,” said Angelica, waving into the kitchen where her mother had a laptop and papers spread over the table.

“Morning, sweetheart,” said her mother. “Are you on your way out already?”

“Yeah,” said Angelica, pulling on a jacket. “I’m meeting a friend.”

“Someone from school?” asked her mother.

“Um, yeah. I just met her,” said Angelica with a glance at her younger sister, who was raising her eyebrows just slightly.

“Is it-”

“You wouldn’t know her,” said Angelica, cutting Ellie off and hurrying to the door before she could embarrass her. “I won’t be too long.”

Angelica paused in the doorway before running out. “Is dad home?” she asked her sister.

“No, he went into the office for a few hours.”

Angelica nodded, not at all surprised, and started her walk.

 

Theo already had a table and her food when Angelica arrived. She stood in the short line, got her cheeseburger and fries, and headed over to her, taking the empty seat.

“Hi,” said Angelica, unsure how to start the conversation.

“Hey,” said Theo. “So I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“I might’ve messed something up. Or, I don’t know, maybe not. Depends how you look at it, really.”

Angelica frowned. “What does it have to do with me?”

Theo’s face remained unreadable as she swirled her soda. “So, my dad thinks we’re dating,” she said quickly, not taking her intense stare off Angelica.

Angelica’s jaw dropped. “What the… Why would he… What makes him think… I barely know you!” she finished, struggling to form a coherent sentence.

“Yeah.”

“What happened?”

“Well, he asked why I was late getting home and I said I’d given you a ride. He was asking about you.”

“And your default response was to tell him we’re dating?” asked Angelica, exasperated.

“No, of course not. He asked if we were involved.”

“Why the _fuck_ would you say yes?” hissed Angelica. This just kept getting weirder.

“Okay,” said Theo, “I don’t expect you to understand this one-hundred percent, but I have a weird relationship with my dad and he thinks I’m an angel child, which pisses me off, because, honestly, I’m not. And it's hard to get him upset, which is frustrating. Anyway, he didn’t seem too thrilled about the idea of us being together, so I kind of said yes without thinking.”

Angelica stared at Theo. “So you told your dad we’re dating just to piss him off.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Honestly, though, his expression was gold, I wish I’d gotten a picture.”

Angelica had a million reasons in her head as to why that was a terrible idea, but she set them aside to get to a more pressing question.

“So what do you want me to do about it?”

“Well, I doubt my dad will bring it up. He avoids your dad anyway, and he’s not the type to ask about your love life. He didn’t even really ask me about it, just sort of glared.”

“So you don’t think your dad will say anything to anyone?”

“But there’s always the chance your dad will bring you up to my dad. He likes bragging about his genius children. And we end up in the same place at the same time a lot. Events and stuff that my dad’s at.”

Angelica nodded slowly. “That’s true.”

“And those would be hard to work around.”

Angelica wasn’t entirely sure where this was going, but she knew there were places she definitely didn’t want it to go.

“So what are you asking me to do?”

Theo sighed. “So, you don’t have to, like, advertise it to everyone or anything, but it would be awesome if you could, like, kind of pretend to date me. Just at parties and stuff, you don’t even have to tell people at school, and-”

“Theo, there are so, so, _so_ many problems with that idea!” said Angelica. This was exactly what she’d been worried about. “First of all, pretending to date you at parties means that my mom and dad would also think we were together.”

“Maybe they’ll think we’re just good friends,” said Theo. “People’s brains usually jump to gal-pal over girlfriend anyway. They won’t think we’re together.”

“My parents aren’t like that, they would definitely think we’re together. And then there’s the thing about no one knowing I’m a lesbian-”

Theo smirked and suppressed a snort of laughter.

“What?” snapped Angelica.

“I think some people have guessed, Angie.”

Angelica’s eyes widened. “That doesn’t make sense, I dated Sam last year!”

“Yeah, and that lasted all of a month.”

“It was a month and a half.”

“Whatever. Anyone with a halfway decent gaydar can see it.”

Great. Angelica’s day was just getting better and better.

“Theo, give me a single reason why I _would_ do this,” she said.

“I can give you a few, actually,” said Theo with her smirk. It was kind of a cute smirk, Angelica noticed. She tore herself away from that detail as quickly as possible.

“First off,” started Theo, “It would probably piss your dad off.”

“What makes you think I’d want to do that?”

“What, are you saying you don’t?”

Angelica didn’t answer.

“The tips of your hair are bright purple,” Theo pointed out. “Classic teen rebel look.” Angelica had been experimenting with different colors for a few months now.

“That wasn’t me being rebellious. My mom was totally on board and my dad couldn’t care less.”

“Okay, hair aside, you can’t say breaking the image of being your dad’s perfect angel child isn’t appealing.”

“Whatever. It’s still a shitty reason.”

“It would also make coming out easier, if that’s something you want to do,” said Theo. Angelica had to think about that one for a second. She figured it _would_ be easier to just start introducing a girlfriend than to have to go up to everyone she knew separately and make announcements about who she was attracted to.

Angelica gave a small nod. “Anything else?”

“Well, you get the honor of telling people you’re going out with Theodosia Burr.”

Angelica rolled her eyes, but her mind was rushing. She had to admit that the idea of an easy way to come out combined with frustrating her dad was pretty appealing, but she wasn’t sure if she could actually convince people that she was dating Theo.

“Okay, here’s my deal,” said Angelica slowly. “I pretend to date you, just for long enough to adequately frustrate our parents and for everyone to get the idea that I’m into girls. Then I fake-break up with you and we call it a day.”

Theo considered. “Fine. How long do we fake-date before the fake-breakup?”

“Two weeks?” suggested Angelica.

“That’s a really short relationship.”

“Don’t push your luck, I’m already agreeing to do it.”

“Okay, wait,” said Theo, “Two weeks from Monday, because Monday’s the gala thing.”

“Deal,” said Angelica, pulling out her phone. “Okay, I’m adding the date of our fake-breakup to my calendar.”

“Awesome,” said Theo, “I’ll make sure to have some fake ice cream to heal my fake heartbroken soul.”

Angelica genuinely grinned up at Theo, and the two left the restaurant. Theo paused outside the door and turned to face Angelica.

“Angie?” she said, catching Angelica’s hand as she turned to go. “Thanks for doing this. I know it’s a little weird.”

Angelica shrugged. “I could use a little excitement in my life. I’ll see you on Monday, dearest girlfriend.”

“See you.”

Angelica smiled a little to herself on her way home. Maybe she could have some fun with this. At any rate, she figured she could count Theo as a friend now.  

The first thing she did when she got home was add Theo to her facebook friends. If they were going to be dating, she figured they should probably at least look like acquaintances. Then she called Philip for advice on how to pull this off without it being a complete mess.

He picked up on the second ring, and Angelica told him about meeting Theodosia, her accidentally telling her father they were a couple, and their fake-dating arrangement. Philip didn’t say anything right away when she finished the story.

“I know it’s a really weird thing to be doing,” said Angelica. “I have no idea why I agreed to this.”

“No, I think it makes perfect sense,” said Philip, “In a weird kind of way. Like you said, it’s a good way to come out.” He and Ellie were the only people she’d come out to so far.

“That was a big part of my reasoning.”

“So I have to ask,” said Philip in a tone that made Angelica incredibly nervous, “What are your feelings for Theodosia?”

“Huh? Oh, no! No, I don’t like her. Not like _that_.”

“Really? Honestly?”

“Philip, I tell you _everything,_ ” said Angelica, which was true. “I would tell you if I liked her.”

“Okay, but that’s, like, a really big thing to do for someone you absolutely don’t care about.”

“I mean, I like her as a friend. A really good friend. That’s it, though.”

“You met her yesterday and you’re best friends?”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” protested Angelica. “I meant that I care for her the same way as I would care for a close friend.”

“On the second day you’ve known her.”

“Philip!”

Philip was laughing now. “Okay, Angie, sure. I’ll be the first to know if that changes, right?”

“It won’t.”

“But hypothetically.”

Angelica groaned. “Yes, fine.”

“Good. Okay, girlie, I’ve gotta run, but you can text me, okay?”

“Okay. Bye, Philip.”

“Good luck with your fake-date.”

Angelica smiled as she hung up. Talking to her older brother was easier than talking to anyone else. She heard a knock at the door as she was setting down her phone.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me,” said her dad’s voice.

“Oh,” said Angelica, jumping up from her bed and opening the door. “Hi.”

“Hey, Angie,” he said, running a hand through his long hair. He looked exhausted.

“When did you get home?” she asked.

“Just now.”

“When did you go into the office?”

“Early,” he said vaguely. His job on the White House staff often required him being in at odd hours on odd days, and his newest goal was to earn a spot on President Washington's cabinet. “Are you still okay with coming to the dinner Monday night?”

“Yeah, definitely,” said Angelica quickly, glancing down at her feet. Her stomach felt heavy with nerves.

“You sure?” he asked, noting his daughter’s nervous behavior. “I know you don’t like big crowds. I would take your mom but she has a meeting, and I took Alex last time, and Ellie might be a little young-”

“No, really, it’s fine,” said Angelica, putting on a smile. “I have a friend that’ll be there.” 

He frowned, thinking. “I guess I don’t know them, I can’t think of anyone with kids you’d know. Anyway, we have to leave around five on Monday.”

“Cool. I’ll be ready.”

Her dad left the room and Angelica ran a hand through her hair. This had sounded like an okay idea in theory, but now she actually had to do it. She took a deep breath to compose herself and started poking through her closet. She would need to look nice for the fake-date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was good! Questions, comments, and suggestions make me a happy nerd. Also, I'm thefourthschuyler on Tumblr if anyone wants to come obsess over the founding fathers with me. My blog is trash, though, so consider yourself warned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, one more done. Theo and Angelica's first time fake-dating in public. Enjoy!

After a weekend of doing nothing, Monday came around all too quickly. The kids all had Monday and Tuesday off from school, which meant Angelica had been babysitting the youngest siblings while Alexander and Eliza worked. She couldn’t focus on much with her nerves about that night slowly intensifying. Over the course of a few hours, she would be both coming out and revealing that her girlfriend was possibly the last person anyone expected. 

At four thirty, Angelica was just about ready to go, wearing her favorite black dress with red flats. She heard her phone buzz and dug it out of her purse. 

 

**From Theo: You all ready for tonight?**

**To Theo: Guess so**

**From Theo: Wow, you sound thrilled**

**To Theo: I feel like this is gonna be weird**

**From Theo: For sure.**

**From Theo: We can make it fun.**

**To Theo: Yeah, good luck having fun while my dad thinks we’re together**

**From Theo: At least it’ll be less boring than usual**

 

Angelica grinned at that last text and had just started a reply when Ellie plopped down next to her. 

“Who’re ya texting?” she asked in a singsong voice.

“Just a friend,” said Angelica, clicking the screen off quickly. 

“You look nice,” observed Ellie.

“Thanks,” said Angelica. “Gotta dress up for the big parties.”

“And for other government kids at the big parties?” asked Ellie, her tone a little too casual.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” snapped Angelica.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, Angie, what do you think it means?”

Angelica nudged her sister playfully. “You know, you didn’t used to be this snarky.”

“Maybe I’m getting it from you,” she said, hopping off the couch and looking out the window. “Dad just pulled in the driveway. Have fun at the date!” Angelica shot her a glare.

The door swung open and her dad walked in, looking over at Angelica. “Oh, good, you’re ready,” he said. “Let me just change quick and we can go.”

Twenty minutes later, Angelica was following her father into a fancy hotel ballroom-type space. She would guess that the crowd was around two hundred people, most of them old and wearing fancy suits or dresses. As usual, there were very few people her age. Her father was immediately whisked away, and Angelica made her way towards the food table, scanning the room for Theo. She was inspecting a plate of some sort of fancy appetizer when she felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around.

_ Holy crap.  _

Theo looked stunning. Angelica glanced quickly over her sleeveless midnight blue dress. Her hair was just as wild as always, with the puffy curls falling to her shoulders. 

“Hey,” said Theo, snapping Angelica out of her trance. “You look nice.”

“So do you. That dress is… it suits you really well,” finished Angelica awkwardly. 

Theo leaned in towards Angelica and spoke quietly into her ear. “Okay, so my dad’s going to have an eye on us most of the night, and I think your dad will too as soon as he notices something.” 

Angelica nodded, and Theo pulled back, planting a light kiss on Angelica’s cheek. Angelica was a bit surprised at the sudden jump into that sort of public affection, but she tried to forget about the brief feeling of Theo’s lips as the other girl took her by the elbow.

“Where are we going?” asked Angelica nervously.

“We’re trying to be in sight of both my dad and your dad at the same time,” said Theo.

Angelica groaned. “This is gonna be so weird.”

Theo stopped and leaned against the other end of the long food table. Both of their fathers were currently talking to different well-dressed old men, but both could see the girls.

“So,” said Theo, turning to Angelica. “How’s your long weekend going?”

“It was going really well until about lunch time on Saturday.”

“Oh, very funny. I thought you were on board with this idea?”

“No, I am, it’s just… doing it is harder than it sounded in theory. I don’t like big crowds of people. Or being in the spotlight, really.”

“How very un-Hamilton of you.”

“I get it from my mom.”

“I read you as more like your dad.”

Angelica shrugged. “I am most of the time. Just not in that way.”

“Well, you better suck it up for tonight, because there’s gonna be some eyes looking our way.”

Angelica glanced around nervously. Aaron Burr was shooting the pair glances. 

“Your dad already looks like he could shoot me,” muttered Angelica. 

“Wow, and we haven’t even played it up yet,” said Theo, grabbing Angelica’s hand and pulling her closer. Angelica’s heart started fluttering faster with some kind of nerves. She forced herself to look back into Theo’s eyes and smile.

“He’d really shoot me if we amped it up,” she said.

“I doubt they let guns in here.”

“From all the lectures on lack of gun control my dad goes off on, I feel pretty confident saying they let guns basically anywhere.”

“Nah,” said Theo, her signature smirk rising. “They’ll protect the crusty old white guys at government galas. I mean, they have bodyguards in here.”

Angelica laughed. “Gun control is an interesting topic of conversation to start off with on a first date.”

“What, would you rather be talking about the weather?”

“No,” said Angelica with a grin. “It’s a little refreshing to skip the small talk.”

Theo ran her fingers through Angelica’s hair, twisting the purple tips. 

“The purple is really nice, you know. It’s cool.”

“Thanks,” said Angelica, glancing around to see if there had been any reactions to the couple-ish behavior.  _ Shit.  _ Her dad was still chatting with someone, but he looked extremely distracted, shooting a confused glance towards the girls. Angelica looked away quickly. 

“I think my dad just noticed.”

“Awesome!” said Theo brightly. The girls continued talking for a while, but Angelica was distracted now, trying not to look over at her dad too much while still trying to read his expression. She wanted the eyes off of her for a minute. 

“Theo, can we go somewhere else? Just for a little bit? People are looking.”

Theo dropped her hand from Angelica’s hair, letting it rest on her shoulder. “You want to walk around a little?”

“Sure,” agreed Angelica. Anything to get the attention off of them. Theo took Angelica’s hand and pulled her to the other side of the room. Angelica found herself paying more attention that she should have been to Theo’s touch, focusing on the feeling of their hands locked together. She was almost disappointed when Theo pulled her hand away, dropping it to her side. 

“This is crazy,” Angelica sighed, looking around the room. 

“I know,” agreed Theo, “And you’re not exactly making it easy.”

Angelica shrugged. “Well, whose idea was this in the first place?”

“You said you’d go along with it!”

“I didn’t think out everything that would be involved.”

There was a lull in the conversation.

“Theo?”

“Yeah?”

“You… you seem like you have a decent relationship with your dad, and if that’s true, why are you so determined to upset him?” The question had been nagging at Angelica.

“For the fun of it.”

“No, really.”

Theo paused. “Don’t you think questions about family relationships are sort of third-date material?”

“With any luck, we won’t even have a full three dates.”

“Then with that luck, I guess I’ll never have to tell you.”

Angelica wasn’t quite satisfied with this answer, but she let it drop, recognizing from Theo’s tone and expression that this really wasn’t the time. She tried a different question.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“God, you really ask a lot of questions.”  
“Because ‘do you have siblings?’ is such a hard question to answer.”

“I have some half-siblings in New York. We weren’t close, I don’t see them anymore.”

“What do you mean by-” Angelica stopped talking, realizing what Theo meant. “Are they your mom’s kids?”

Theo nodded, her face expressionless. Her mother had died a few years ago. Angelica wondered if she should say sorry – it seemed like that was what people usually did when they brought up dead relatives – but that didn’t feel right with Theo. Instead, Angelica took her hand and squeezed gently, hoping the actions said more than words. Theo squeezed back just a little, not meeting Angelica’s eyes, but not looking upset anymore either. The moment of quiet comfort was loudly interrupted a few seconds later. 

“Angie!” 

Angelica tore her gaze away from Theo, her heart racing.

“Dad,” she said carefully, trying not to let her face show how nervous she was. 

Alexander turned to Theo. “Theodosia, right? Burr?”

“Yes,” said Theo pleasantly. Alexander, for once, looked lost for words. 

“Well, I’m going to go get some food,” said Theo, giving Angelica an encouraging smile. Angelica gave her a look back that she hoped conveyed her panic. She’d hoped Theo would help her out in this situation. What if he had a trademark Hamilton explosion at this fancy dinner? What if he decided this would be a good time to hand Aaron Burr another alphabetized list of “Bad decisions made by Aaron Burr?” What if he published a book or something about his daughter’s love life? None of them seemed too far-fetched. 

“How’s your political socializing going?” asked Angelica nervously, reminding herself to talk.  

“What’s up with Theodosia?” asked Alexander, ignoring the question. “I didn’t know you even knew her.”

Angelica paused, stumbling over words in her head. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. We’re… I mean… She’s sort of…”

“Are you two dating?” asked her father. He only looked curious. 

“Um. Yeah. Yeah, she’s my girlfriend,” said Angelica, her heart beating out of her chest. She hoped that had sounded more convincing to him than it had to her. 

“Well, I can’t say I expected it to be Theodosia, of all people,” Alexander muttered. Angelica held her breath, waiting for some other reaction. “At least you won’t be bored at parties anymore.”

“Um,” said Angelica, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that’s a plus.”

“When did this start?”

_Oh, shit._ She and Theo hadn’t thought about any details.

“Um, about two weeks ago,” she invented.  

“Angie, you could have told me.”

She finally looked up at her father, trying to figure out what was going through his head. 

“I know,” she said carefully, “But it didn’t exactly come up.”

He nodded. “Understandable. But, Angie, I’ll just say that if you’re happy, then I’m happy.”

That was not the reaction Angelica had expected. There was no way this would end without her father making a scene, her luck wasn’t  _ that  _ good. 

“You don’t care that she’s…?”

“A Burr?” he asked, smiling. “Not particularly. I honestly have more problems than who you date. Not that I don’t care, of course, but in the end, it won’t change much. If you two can have a good relationship in spite of your fathers’, um… disagreements, then I guess that’s a good thing.”

Angelica could tell he’d thought the speech out a bit beforehand, but she still appreciated the thought, especially since her father wasn’t usually anything close to sentimental. She smiled at him before he was pulled away by a woman asking him something about a debt plan. 

Angelica closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  _ That could’ve gone a whole lot worse,  _ she thought in relief. Her immediate instinct was to find Theo. Maybe now that talking to her father was out of the way, she could actually enjoy Theo’s company for the rest of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope that ending didn't feel choppy at all. I was originally going to have the party be one chapter but it turned out really long, so I split it in half. Update should be soon, but as a warning, I don't think I'll have a very regular posting schedule for this fic. Feedback makes me a happy writer :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thank you guys for the nice comments, bookmarks, and kudos! Feedback is basically fuel. I know it took a little while for me to update this, but the next one should go a little faster. I'm not sure how great this chapter is, it felt a little like a filler chapter, but I hope you like it anyway :)

Angelica all but ran to where Theo was scanning a plate of mostly-finished food. 

“Theo! Theo!” she called excitedly. The other girl spun around.

“Angie! How did that go?”

“It was… weird. He wasn’t even upset that I was dating you. I’m kind of shocked it went over that well.”

Theo looked confused. “Wasn’t… wasn’t irking him part of the reason you agreed to this? I mean, whatever floats your boat, but I thought you didn’t  _ want  _ him to be thrilled.”

Angelica had forgotten about that. 

“Oh,” she said, frowning. “I don’t know. I guess I never  _ really  _ wanted to piss him off. I mean, I’m not opposed to that, but this works just as well. Maybe even better, actually.”

Theo looked like she had other things she wanted to ask Angelica, but she held back. Instead, she pulled Angelica into an embrace and let her lips brush the top of her forehead in a light kiss. Angelica closed her eyes and let her arms wrap around Theo’s waist and shoulders, taking a deep breath of Theo’s scent. It was sweet with something like vanilla. She would have been content to stay there wrapped in Theo’s strong arms for a while longer, feeling content and peaceful and ignoring the crowd, but Theo pulled away abruptly.

“What time is it?” asked Theo, avoiding Angelica’s gaze.

“Almost nine,” said Angelica, checking her watch and trying to meet Theo’s eyes. “We’re probably leaving soon.”

“I’m surprised we haven’t left already,” muttered Theo, looking around the crowd. “My dad usually wants to leave these things as soon as possible.”

Theo started wandering down the table, looking awkward and a bit distracted. Angelica watched, confused. What was this? Just a minute ago they had been having a normal conversation, holding each other. Now Theo looked like she would like nothing better than to leave.

“Theo?” said Angelica, catching up with her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, picking at her fingernails. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, you just… you seemed really relaxed a second ago, and now you look nervous or something.”

“I’m  _ fine,  _ Angelica,” said Theo tensely. “I’m just tired.”

“But you were just happy and now you’re not. Did I-?”

“Angelica. Stop asking questions,” said Theo sharply. Angelica stopped following her, feeling hurt. 

“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

Theo turned, her expression softening. “No, it’s okay, I just… I need to find my dad. I’ll let you know when we’re leaving.”

“Okay,” said Angelica, letting Theo walk off alone. She leaned against the table, replaying the last few minutes in her head to try and figure out is she’d said something wrong. 

Theo reappeared a minute later, looking back to her normal self. “I think we’re going now,” she said. “Your dad’s picking a fight with Jefferson and my dad’s trying to stay out of it.”

Angelica rolled her eyes. “I better go drag him off. But I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” said Theo. The girls stood looking at each other for a moment, unsure how to say goodbye. Finally Angelica pulled Theo in for a hug and kissed her on the cheek as they pulled apart. Theo hesitated, meeting Angelica’s eyes for a fraction of a second, then hurried away to meet her father, who looked anxious to leave before the argument escalated. 

Angelica found her father giving Jefferson a lengthy lecture, emphasizing his words by aggressively gesturing with a lobster claw. 

“Not only that time, though, Jefferson. There was last Tuesday, when you said to Mr. Madison here that the President should appoint appoint a ‘real American’ for the cabinet post,” said Alexander, spinning and thrusting his lobster claw at James Madison, who looked like he really didn’t want to be pulled into this. “Isn’t that right, Madison?”

“Mr. Hamilton, sir, I’m not sure this is the place to-”

“So you don’t deny it! Even your boyfriend isn’t backing you up, Jefferson!”

“Alexander, showing such a temper at public events hardly makes me think you’d be a good candidate for a cabinet position,” said Jefferson, smirking smugly at Angelica’s father. Angelica figured that now was the time to step in. 

“Hello, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison,” she said brightly, pushing her way towards her father, “Dad? I think it’s time to go, it looks like the party’s winding down, and-”

“I’m not finished, there’s more! So then on Wednesday, Jefferson, John told me that you said that-”

“ _ Dad!” _ Angelica hissed, eyeing curious-looking bystanders, “We have to go. I appreciate your effort but this isn’t the moment.”

Her father ignored her, continuing. “Jefferson, you must be  _ out of your mind- _ ”

“Yes, well,” interrupted James Madison, gripping Jefferson’s arm and pulling him to the side. “We really should be going. Good day, Hamilton.”

Angelica breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the lord for the fact that Madison had a bit of control over Jefferson. Her father allowed himself to be pulled away after only a few choice words shouted in Jefferson’s direction.

Angelica didn’t try to talk to her father as she lead him outside. She was used to his outbursts and knew it was best to let him be for a while. He slammed the car doors a little harder than necessary and didn’t say anything until they pulled off the highway near their house. 

“Those motherfucking Republicans just don’t know when to shut up,” he grumbled.

“You were sort of the one not shutting up, Dad.”

“But unlike what they were saying, my points were valid!”

“Dad, I’m glad you’re good at pummeling Jefferson in debates, but save it for work where it actually counts.”

He sighed dramatically and pulled the car up their driveway. Angelica made it to the door before he did. Eliza was still up, reading a book on the couch. She smiled at her daughter. 

“How was it?” she asked.

“The usual,” said Angelica. “Dad got into a little spat with Jefferson, but Madison called it off before-”

“Before I even got in my best points,” said Alexander angrily, bursting in the door. 

“Shh, Alex, James and Ellie are asleep,” said Eliza, but she was smiling a little. She was more than used to her husband’s antics. Angelica decided to let them talk and slipped upstairs to change into something more comfortable. 

Twenty minutes later, Angelica was comfortably in bed, typing a story for journalism and trying not to think too much about the dinner. She heard a soft knock on the door. 

“Come in,” she said absentmindedly, still typing. Eliza let herself in the room. 

“Angelica?”

“Mm-hm?”

“I just wanted to talk to you.” Angelica recognized her mother’s ‘this-is-important’ voice and looked up from her laptop. 

“Yeah?”

“Alexander tells me you had a bit of a date tonight.”

_ Oh, right.  _ Between Theo's odd behavior and her father's argument with Jefferson,  Angelica had forgotten that her mother would be finding out about that. 

“Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. I’m, um, dating Theo. Theodosia Burr.”

“Is she nice?”

Angelica thought about it. “No, not particularly.”

Eliza frowned. “Then why are you with her?”

“She’s not mean, she’s just not that nice. You don’t have to be nice to be a good person.”

“But for someone you’re in a relationship with…” said Eliza, sounding concerned. 

“Dad’s not very nice,” Angelica pointed out. “Neither am I, really. Theo and I just… we get along really well. She gets my sense of humor and I get hers.”

Eliza smiled and stood. “I’m glad you’re happy. Now, are you planning on sleeping tonight?”

“Yeah, Mom. A full three hours.”

“No, really.”

“Yes, I’ll sleep,” said Angelica. “I just want to get this story out tonight.”

Her mother sighed. “You have your father’s work ethic, for better or for worse. I’m going to sleep.”

“Night,” muttered Angelica, turning back to her laptop. 

She worked for about an hour before her thoughts about the night were too persistent to work. She closed her laptop with a sigh. Why had Theo been so distant at the end of the night? Not that it really mattered to Angelica, but if Theo wanted to keep up the fake-dating, the two would have to be getting along. Her shift of mood had been so sudden, and it seemed that nothing had triggered it. 

Angelica clicked on her phone. It was already past midnight, but she figured Philip would still be up. She dialed his number and anxiously waited for him to pick up. He finally did on one of the last rings. 

“Angie?” he said. He sounded tired. 

“Hey, Philip. You up?”

“Uh-huh,” he said with a yawn. “Not for much longer, though. Do you need something?”

“It’s not super important, if you can’t talk.”

“What is it?”

“Just girl drama,” muttered Angelica. 

“Oooh, your date was tonight! Tell me  _ everything. _ ” 

Angelica told him about how they’d been getting along okay before the hug, when Theo’s mood had shifted.

“So we were just hugging, and it was fine, I didn’t even say anything to her, but she got really distracted all of a sudden. It was like she was trying to get away from me.”

Philip was quiet for a minute, thinking. 

“Was this the closest you guys had been all night?”

Angelica thought about it. “Physically, yeah.”

“And you said she seemed awkward?”

“What is this, an interrogation?”

“I’m just clarifying the details!” he insisted. “But I have a theory.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“She likes you.”

Angelica almost dropped the phone.

“What? No! No, she has no reason to be interested in me at all. She’s gorgeous and she’s easy to talk to and she’s a genius, she could get literally anyone. And that wouldn’t explain anything, it just-”

“No, no, hear me out,” cut in Philip. “You said she was easy to talk to, which means she’s not usually awkward. The only time she’s been unsure what to say to you was after a really long hug, and if she has feelings for you, she might have been nervous about that much contact.”

Angelica fell silent, thinking through Philip’s points. 

“I have another theory,” said Philip. Angelica could practically hear his teasing smile.

“What?” she asked cautiously. 

“You like her, too.”

Angelica groaned. “Philip, you’re supposed to be helpful!”

He was laughing. “I’m just saying, you described her as gorgeous, you agreed to fake date her, I keep hearing about hand-holding and forehead kissing-”

“It’s  _ fake,  _ Philip!”

“Okay, okay, sure,” he said. “But when you change your mind, don’t come crying to me.”

“Whatever. You’re wrong, but whatever.”

“Right. Goodnight, Angie.”

“Bye, Philip.”

Angie couldn’t fall asleep that night. Thoughts of Philip’s theory and Theo whirled through her head. There was  _ no way  _ Philip was right about Theo, there had to be some other reason she was uncomfortable. And she wouldn’t even let herself think about Philip’s opinion on her feelings. She  _ couldn’t  _ develop feelings for Theo, it just couldn’t end well. And no matter what, their fake-breakup date was in two weeks. 

“Two weeks,” whispered Angelica to herself, punching a pillow into place. “Just two weeks and this stupid fucking drama is over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it :) Next update is in the works. Comments and suggestions make my day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah, FINALLY got another chapter done! So this chapter covers a few days, which is longer than the time the other ones covered. I'm not sure how well that worked out, but it felt like the best way to do it without getting boring. Featuring bad science puns and cheesiness because why the fuck not. Enjoy!

Angelica distracted herself with work on Tuesday, publishing a new article to her school website and starting some research for debate, even though the next competition was weeks away. She needed something to do to keep her mind off things, and writing worked surprisingly well. By late evening, she had page after page of notes, and she finally put everything away around midnight.

Even though she’d been working for hours and felt exhausted, Angelica couldn’t get to sleep. She tossed and turned for a good half hour before giving up. She pulled out her phone and flipped through a few different social media accounts, but nothing caught her eye. She hovered over Philip’s contact name for a while, but what would she say to him? “Hi, Philip, I can’t sleep?” She didn’t really have many other contact options in her phone that wouldn’t be confused by a spontaneous 1am text.

Before she’d really considered what she was doing, Angelica was halfway through a text to Theo. She had no idea why she was doing it – after all, she was trying to sleep and her drama with Theo was part of the distraction. She hit send before she could give herself time to second guess the text.

 

**To Theo: What are we doing in school tomorrow?**

 

Angelica turned her phone over in her hand for a few minutes before feeling it buzz, her fingers flying over the screen to open the message.

 

**From Theo: Presumably we’re learning something**

 

Angelica rolled her eyes a little, but smiled. The answer was so typically Theo, and there was something a little calming about the sarcasm.

 

**To Theo: No really, we should figure this out**

**From Theo: I’ll come sit with you at lunch or something**

**To Theo: Okay…**

**To Theo: We might need a little more than that**

**From Theo: What, you wanna make out in the locker room or something?**

**To Theo: Not really, the locker room is gross**

**From Theo: Maybe in a science lab? I hear it’s a good place for** **_chemistry_ **

**To Theo: Did you just make a bad science pun**

**From Theo: Maybe**

**To Theo: I’m not sure I can even pretend to date you if you’re making chemistry puns**

**From Theo: But we’re** **_bonding_ ** **so well**

**To Theo: If you say so**

**To Theo: Fuck wait was that another one?**

**To Theo: I hate you**

**To Theo: Anyway, I guess we can just be couple-y when we see each other?**

**From Theo: Sounds good**

**To Theo: We don’t have too many classes together so we might have to play it up in the hallways**

**From Theo: I’m sure I’ll see you** **_periodically._ **

 

Angelica almost groaned out loud and threw down her phone in exasperation. Theo was ridiculous. She finally fell asleep with her phone still in her hand and a bit of a smile tugging at her lips.

 

School on Wednesday involved a lot of wandering the halls while holding hands with Theo, assessing the reactions of people she knew when they passed each other. Some of her friends smiled at her and most people just ignored them, but the pair did get a couple of raised eyebrows that made Angelica’s stomach twist.

“I feel like people are looking at us,” muttered Angelica to Theo as they walked to lunch together.

“That’s the point,” said Theo, lacing her fingers together with Angelica’s and tugging her forward. “Let’s walk around more before we get lunch.”

Angelica let herself be dragged around half the school before turning around and pulling Theo the other way.

“Okay, Theo, can we go now? I’m starving.”

“What, you don’t like parading with your beautiful girlfriend?” asked Theo jokingly, pecking Angelica on the cheek for the benefit of some passing students. Angelica groaned. Theo had been doing this all day whenever they saw groups of people.

“I need food, Theo. Let’s go.”

Theo grew quiet as soon as they entered the cafeteria. Angelica crossed automatically to her usual table and friends, but Theo hung back.

“What is it?” asked Angelica impatiently when Theo stopped letting herself be pulled along.

“I don’t really know your friends,” said Theo, glancing towards Angelica’s table.

“They don’t bite, I promise,” sighed Angelica. Theo still looked hesitant.

“We can sit with your friends,” offered Angelica, spinning and scanning the cafeteria. “I have the ability to be social.”

“I usually just hang out in the library,” said Theo.

Angelica sighed. “Okay. Let’s go to the library, then.”

Five minutes later, the two were sitting on a couch behind tall bookshelves, talking quietly over a bag of chips.

“So why do you eat alone?” asked Angelica, licking salt off her thumb.

“I just don’t get along with people easily.”

“How are you okay with being the center of attention at a dinner with senators and White House staff and also against talking to a few people your age?”

“Those two things are different,” said Theo. “I don’t need to chat with people at a government gala. It doesn’t matter what they think of me, I’ll never really see them again. Here everything I say has to be careful and planned.”

Angelica shook her head in confusion. “I don’t get you.”

“It’s because you’re the opposite,” Theo pointed out. “You hated people looking at you at the dinner, but you like having your friend group.”

“How do you know me better than I do?” muttered Angelica, crumpling the empty chip bag.

“Well, I am your girlfriend,” said Theo. “It’s my job.”

“You do it well.”

“Thanks, I try.”

The next few minutes passed in silence with each girl finishing their lunch.

“Theo, are we friends?” asked Angelica out of the blue. The question had been nagging at the back of her mind.

“I’d say so,” said Theo, suddenly focusing very hard on her apple. “I mean, I don’t know what else we would be.”

“Okay. I’m glad,” said Angelica, looking at Theo. Why was it so hard to catch her eye sometimes?

Theo breathed in deeply and lightly placed a hand over Angelica’s, leaning closer to her. “Me too, Angie.”

Angelica glanced around their corner of the library, expecting to see someone that Theo was acting for, but they were alone. _What?_ Every time they'd done this, it had been for the audience. She looked back to Theo, meeting her eyes. She wasn’t about to voice her confusion, though – Theo’s hand on hers was sort of… nice. Friendly and comforting. She suddenly realized she could hear Theo’s breathing. The library seemed so quiet, and Theo was so close…

Both girls jumped when the bell rang, snapping out of their moment of silence.

“Well,” said Theo, not meeting Angelica’s eyes again. “I need to go.”

“Okay. Yeah. Yeah, me too,” said Angelica, watching Theo throw things into her backpack. “I’ll, um, I’ll see you later.”

Theo nodded and walked briskly out of the library. _Why do I feel like that was awkward?_ wondered Angelica, starting towards her next class.

Angelica didn’t see Theo again all day. Neither girls mentioned the episode the next day, even though they saw each other between every class and ate together in the library again. All week, Angelica tried her best to avoid tense situations, but no matter what she did, Theo would brush her off at least once a day, and it was often when they seemed to be getting along well.

She didn’t talk to Philip again until Friday evening when he called her. She answered hesitantly, not in the mood to hear his theories of Theo’s attraction.

“So how’s the fake girlfriend?” he asked as soon as he found an opening.

“Fine,” said Angelica.

“Just fine?”

“Yeah.”

“No drama?”

“None that you need to hear about.”

“She’s not being awkward?”

“I mean, only sometimes.”

Philip laughed. “Have you considered my theory any more?”

“Philip!” Angelica groaned.

“Well?”

“I still think you’re wrong.”

“You’d say that even if you thought I was right,” he pointed out. “Be completely honest with me for a sec. Do you like her?”

Angelica hesitated. Did she like Theo? She definitely enjoyed her company. Theo was smart and funny and yeah, okay, she was gorgeous. _That doesn’t mean I like her in that way, though,_ Angelica reminded herself. And besides, they were fake dating. If Theo actually wanted to date, she would have said so.

“Angie? You there?” said Philip.

“What? Oh, yeah, sorry. Just thinking. No. No, I don’t like Theo.”

“Ellie says you’re always texting her.”

Angelica swore under her breath. “You talked to Ellie?”

“Yeah, I always do.”

“But about me?”

“The siblings have to know every detail of your love life, Angie.”

Angelica groaned. “How much did you tell her?”

“I didn’t have to say much. She knows the relationship is fake.”

Angelica’s mind raced, trying to remember if she’d told Ellie it was fake. “How… how would she…”

“She’s smart.”

“Whatever,” huffed Angelica, trying to end this conversation.

“You can talk to her, Angie, she’s pretty good at this stuff, especially for someone her age.”

“It’s not like this is hard, I don’t need counselors to help me survive another week of fake dating.”

“One week?”

“Yeah. A week and a few days,” said Angelica quietly.

“You looking forward to that?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, we’re not changing the date,” said Angelica. In reality, she was dreading next Monday. Spending time with Theo was nice, and she cared for her on a level she didn’t quite understand. She didn’t want to have to lose Theo’s friendship after their fake breakup.

“You know what would be a great way to change the date?” said Philip thoughtfully.

“What?”

“Actually ask her out.”

Angelica groaned and hung up.

 

Angelica spent another weekend working. She didn’t even leave the house until Sunday afternoon, taking a walk to the library for a change of scenery. Sitting in an armchair by a window, she couldn’t help but think of a different library, her few lunches with Theo, sitting curled up with her and sharing food. Angelica was lost in a tunnel of sweet smells, soft skin, thick curls, a smooth and steady voice – Theo things.

She took a deep breath. Okay. Okay, _maybe_ Philip was sort of right. Angelica wasn’t sure about Theo’s feelings, but her own…

Angelica had never cared so deeply for someone. She had to admit that to herself. She had some people she was friendly with, people she would talk to in school, but she was reserved in forming close friendships. Theo was different. The two had clicked immediately, and Angelica could certainly say without a doubt that she at least loved her as a friend. She sat staring at a page of her book without turning it, without seeing the words. The only thing in her mind was Theo, and the questions she raised.

Without thinking too much, Angelica pulled out her phone and started typing. She needed to write this down, get her feelings out of her head. The text was barely coherent, her usually carefully composed sentences scattered with emotion and confusion she tried to avoid.

 

_Theo. What do I even say to you? I don’t know. Fuck. Okay, My brother was always right about everything, so maybe he’s right now too, You don’t know what I’m talking about, but you’re smart, you can probably guess. Theodosia, I care about you more than I’ve ever cared about a friend. I don’t understand it. I’m usually so careful and calm and I usually second-guess everything I hear about myself, every act of kindness people show me. Not with you. I’m so comfortable with you, so okay with spending all my free time with you. I even told people we’re dating for you. Who does that for someone who’s just a friend? Maybe you’re not. Friend seems like the wrong word for you. What are we? What am I to you? Do you need me as much as I need you? I have so many questions. For you. For myself. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. I just want to be closer to you._

 

Of course, Angelica had never planned to send the text. There was no way she was saying any of this to anyone when she wasn’t even sure what was going through her head.

So she deleted it. But not before saving it to her notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update should be in a few days! I know I've been updating pretty slowly, but I've been a little swamped with school and stuff. Feedback appreciated as always, especially any thoughts on how the timing/pace of the story is going :) 
> 
> You can also come obsess over this gosh darn musical with me on tumblr @thefourthschuyler if you want. I like friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I finally finished another one! Angie gets angsty in here, but the gals are adorable. Enjoy!

**12:52 am**

**Theo: Angie are you up**

 

Angelica rolled over in bed, hearing a phone buzz interrupt her train of thought as she drifted off to sleep on Sunday night. She replied immediately.

 

**Angelica: Yeah why?**

**Theo: Just wondering**

**Theo: I can’t sleep**

**Angelica: Cool, glad you texted me with this important news**

**Theo: np**

 

Angelica rubbed her eyes and clicked on her lamp. It wasn’t like she’d be able to sleep now. Her phone buzzed as she turned it over in her hand. 

 

**Theo: 1 more week**

**Angelica: Yeah**

**Theo: That’s gonna be weird**

**Angelica: Maybe**

**Theo: I hope not**

 

_ What do I say to that?  _ Thought Angelica, staring at the screen. She wasn’t prepared to talk about this, not at one in the morning on a school night. She had just resolved to ignore the text and try to sleep when her phone rang, making her jump. She answered as fast as she could. 

“Theo? Hang on, I’m gonna step outside so I don’t wake anyone up,” she whispered, throwing the covers off and running lightly down the stairs and out onto the back porch, shivering in sweatpants and a t-shirt. 

“Okay, what’s up?” said Angelica once she’d closed the door. 

“I just wanted to talk to someone,” said Theo. 

“At one on a Monday morning?”

“Yeah.”

“Should I even ask why?”

“No.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I just said you shouldn’t ask.”

“Theo, as your devoted fake-girlfriend, I think I deserve some sort of explanation in return for picking up.”

The line went quiet for a second before Theo answered. 

“I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Theo, are you okay?” Angelica thought Theo sounded tense or distracted or something.

“My dad had Jefferson and Madison over for dinner.”

“So?” asked Angelica. This couldn’t be that uncommon, the three were friends.

“I mean, it’s not news that Jefferson’s a racist snobby piece of shit. I really hate having them over, it just makes me so… so upset to see my dad being friendly to them or whatever.”

“He doesn’t agree with them?” asked Angelica, slightly surprised. The three got along so well. 

“Not really, definitely not on everything. He just… It’s like he has to be friendly to everyone. I get being polite, but he treats everyone like they’re his best friend.”

“I could never do that,” said Angelica thoughtfully. “Even polite is stretching it.”

“I can tell,” said Theo. 

“What?! I’m nice enough!” protested Angelica. 

“Yeah, to me,” said Theo, laughing a little. “Not to everyone. Remember the debate tournament last year?”

“Point taken,” said Angelica. She was still proud of how well she’d done at that debate, even if she’d gotten in a little trouble for following one of the competitors around during the lunch break to get a couple more of her points in. 

“Do you want to hang out?” asked Angelica after a pause. 

“Uh, sure, when? I’m busy after school tomorrow but-”

“No, I meant now.”

“I thought you were trying to sleep.”

“Well, now I’m awake, and you’re awake, and you live two blocks away.”

“But… It’s one in the morning, Angie.”

“Do you have anything better to do?”

Theo sighed. “Oh, what the hell. I’ll meet you at the corner.”

“See you in five,” said Angelica, ending the call and slipping inside to grab a jacket and shoes before running out again. 

Theo was sitting on the curb when Angelica got to the corner. She hesitated for a minute, studying her outline in the streetlamp, the patches of snow left over from last weekend gleaming in the lamplight. As creepy as she felt, Angelica couldn’t help but take a quick picture on her phone, just to capture the moment. The lighting and the angle and the sliver of a moon just over the trees were too perfect. 

Angelica walked over and took a seat on the cold concrete next to Theo. 

“Hey,” she said. 

“Hey,” said Theo. “What do you want to do?”

“Well, I’m starving, actually.”

“Cool. Everything’s closed, though.”

“Nope! The 7-11 by the burger place is open 24 hours and they sell Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I make a lot of late-night food runs when I’m working on something late,” said Angelica, standing and pulling Theo up. “Come on.”

Angie practically skipped as she dragged Theo down the block. Now that she was outside and doing something, she felt wide awake. Nothing gave her energy and adrenaline like breathing cold night air and running in the street. It made her feel a little more daring, a little more confident. And being with Theo definitely didn’t hurt. Angelica’s nerves were jumping all over the place. This could almost be considered a date.

Theo, on the other hand, was quiet, only breaking her silence with yawns. She still let herself be pulled along, but Angelica figured she might not be awake enough for talking right now. 

The 7-11 was empty when they got there, except for a guy reading a magazine with his feet up on the counter. Angelica waved. 

“Hey, Joseph.”

“Hi, Angelica. Ice cream again?”

“Yep,” she said cheerily, pulling Theo through the shelves to the freezer section. 

“You must come here a lot,” said Theo. 

“Oh, yeah, maybe twice a week.”

“Your parents don’t care that you leave the house in the middle of the night?”

“My mom doesn’t know and my dad usually asks me to bring him back a coffee,” said Angelica, scanning the selection. “What do you think, chunky monkey or fudge brownie?”

“Angie, it’s freezing out.”

“Ice cream has no seasons. Pick a flavor.”

“Fine. Fudge brownie, then, I need chocolate,” groaned Theo, pulling it off the shelf. “And I’m gonna get coffee if we’re going to be running around the city all night.”

They ended up both getting coffee, along with their ice cream and two plastic spoons. Joseph the cashier waved as they left and told Angelica to say hi to Alexander for him.

They settled back onto the curb where they’d met and Angelica took the first bite of their ice cream.

“Good call, Theo, this is the best kind,” said Angelica. “You want a bite?”

“Sure,” Theo sighed, scooping some up with her own spoon. “What time is it, by the way?”

Angelica checked her phone. “1:46.”

Theo groaned. “We’re gonna be so tired tomorrow.”

“Actually, missing a night of sleep isn’t always that bad,” said Angelica. “You just have to do your homework during class and study hall and lunch and then you can go home and go to sleep.”

“Whatever,” said Theo. “I guess the ice cream is good.”

“Yep,” said Angelica. “Told you it has no season.”

The girls talked as they worked their way through the entire container of ice cream, fighting violently over brownie chunks until Theo’s spoon eventually broke, and then trading bites off of Angelica’s. Angelica tried not to let her fingers linger with Theo’s too long as they passed the carton, tried not to stare at Theo glowing in the light of the streetlamp. She didn’t do a very good job of it. 

They were still there long after the ice cream had gone, lying across the sidewalk and talking quietly with their shoulders touching. Between the scattered clouds and the light pollution, there weren’t many stars to see, but Angelica wasn’t paying much attention to the sky anyway. She was hyper-aware of Theo next to her, every nerve ending in her body shivering when Theo brushed against her. Talking was never hard for Angelica, but she found her focus on the conversation drifting whenever she started thinking about Theo too much.  

“So dinner with the Southern Republicans wasn’t fun?” asked Angelica, remembering why she’d been woken up in the middle of the night in the first place. 

“Nope,” said Theo. “They suck.”

“Mm-hm,” Angelica agreed. 

“And sometimes,” whispered Theo, her voice falling quiet, “I feel like if my mom was here… she wouldn’t put up with them. I don’t think.”

Angelica turned her head to look at Theo, who was still staring straight up. Angelica had never heard her voice so serious, all the confidence and light gone.  She had no idea what to say. Instead of talking, she rested her hand lightly over Theo’s, her heart racing. _Breathe, Angie, breathe,_ she told herself. _You’re not even holding hands, they’re barely even touching, just-_

Before Angelica had even really finished panicking, Theo had pulled her hand away and sat up. 

“I should go,” she said, breaking the electric silence, grabbing her empty coffee cup and turning away from Angelica. “It’s almost three, I want to get some sleep.”

“Wait, what?” said Angelica, surprised. She jumped up and caught Theo’s hand.

“I have to go, Angie. Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Yeah, no problem, but… we were kind of… talking,” finished Angelica awkwardly.

“I’m tired. I’ll see you tomorrow,” mumbled Theo, staring at the ground as she hurried away down the street. 

Angelica watched her go, bewildered. Why was it that any time they seemed to really be getting along, doing anything that wasn’t fake, Theo ran away or stopped talking?

Angelica’s insides seemed to freeze as she realized why. 

“She knows I like her,” she whispered to herself. “She knows and she’s uncomfortable because she doesn’t like me.”

The explanation made sense to her, made horrible perfect sense. Theo had asked her to fake date and then Angelica had made everything weird by getting a stupid crush. Had Angelica misread all of Theo’s flirting? What if every second of it had been fake, just a show, and Angelica took it and blew it up in her head?

Angelica walked home automatically, still lost in her head. How had such a perfect night taken such an awful turn all at once? She’d felt so close to Theo, so peaceful, so… hopeful. Hopeful that maybe this whole thing would work out, her mind racing as she stopped herself from just pressing her lips to Theo’s right there. But of course nothing could work out that way.

Angelica came in the back door and was almost to the stairs when her father’s voice interrupted her thoughts. 

“You’re still up?” he said from his armchair. 

“Yeah. I just went for a walk.”

“Did you get me coffee, by any chance?”

“No, sorry. Joseph told me to say hi, though.”

“Ah, well. I guess I’ve already had three cups tonight. What are you working on?”

“Nothing,” said Angelica. 

“Nothing? Why were you out?”

“I just, um… needed some time.”

“Why? Is everything okay?”

_ Stop asking questions for once,  _ thought Angelica, even though she wasn’t really mad at her father. At least he cared. 

“Yeah. Yeah, stuff is fine, Dad, I’m fine.”

Alexander pushed his glasses up his nose and studied her. “Okay. If you say so. How’s Theodosia?”

“Theo’s fine,” said Angelica, maybe a bit too abruptly, turning back to the staircase. “Good night.”

It took every ounce of Angelica’s willpower to not slam her door. Now, on top of her quickly growing feelings for Theo, on top of Theo’s clear disinterest in her, her father would be worried. If he talked to Eliza, she’d be worried too. Her closest siblings were already speculating over her feelings and Theo’s. She just wanted to be able to see a clear answer, an easy out. 

Her first instinct, of course, was to call Philip. She was halfway to his contact before she realized that he’d probably be asleep, and besides, everything had worked out better for her when she’d been independent from others, when she’d been free from her family’s worry. She needed to sort this mess out on her own. 

Angelica barely slept that night. This was definitely not what she’d expected when she let Theo give her a ride home a week ago. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I'm being pretty slow with updates, but I was applying to intern at Congress this summer and listening to the audiobook Lin narrated (it's amazing) and recovering from that last episode of the 100, and since most of that's done now, the updates might come a little faster. I hope. 
> 
> Hope you guys liked this one! I wasn't totally sure where I was taking it but it was fun to write and I liked how it turned out. Feedback is more than welcome, as usual!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WE'RE BACK. Holy shit I can't believe it's been a month since I updated. Sorry for such a major delay y'all! I hit major writer's block and had some other stuff going on but I LMM'ed it today and knocked out rough drafts for a couple of chapters. So, after way too long, I give you chapter 7! Enjoy!

Monday was awkward. Angelica wasn’t exactly surprised by this, but it still came as a blow. Theo didn’t acknowledge her with more than a tense smile all morning. 

_ I need to act casual,  _ Angelica told herself as she pushed open the library doors at the beginning of lunch.  _ Casual and not at all romantically interested in her.  _

She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw Theo in their usual spot, spreading peanut butter on a banana.  _ Calm and not romantically interested,  _ Angelica reminded herself. 

“Hi,” she said, taking a seat across from Theo instead of next to her like usual. 

“Angie,” said Theo, glancing up quickly. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” said Angelica, taking out a sandwich. “You?”

“Just tired. I’m not used to staying up that late.”

The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, the memory of the night before expanding like a balloon until it filled all the space between them. Angelica ate quietly. She had to convince Theo that her feelings were nothing more than platonic, even if it meant being a little boring, all of their usual easy banter forgotten. She wasn't about to risk anything, even if it meant going to the opposite extreme. 

The half hour passed in mostly silence, and Angelica felt miserable at the end.  _ It’s for the best,  _ she reminded herself.  _ At least we can still be friends if I stop acting like I like her and scaring her off.  _

 

Angelica spent the next few days thinking. She worked on her assignments hours into the night, trying to stay distracted until she was tired enough to fall asleep without thinking about her situation with Theo. 

Philip called her almost every day, and Angelica kept the conversations as short as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was admit that he was right and that she didn’t know what to do. She knew her family was worried about all the time she was spending in her room, knew they could tell she was uptight and probably worried about something. She just hoped they could wave it off as typical moody teenager behavior. 

Angelica managed to keep everything up until Thursday. Their interactions had been getting gradually stiffer all week, and it was practically a cold war by Thursday. 

The girls met in their usual spot, and Angelica could barely pull off cool politeness. She was exhausted and she’d just realized she forgot to finish the reading from Twelfth Night for her English quiz next block. She sat down across from Theo and started skimming the end of the play, desperately trying to process the story through her tired haze.

“Forgot about the quiz?” Said Theo finally. 

“I was so busy last night, I just forgot about this reading,” muttered Angelica.

“I took the quiz last block. It was mostly on the earlier parts, you can probably use Sparknotes,” said Theo, looking over at Angelica’s book. “You only have a few pages left, anyway.”

Angelica sighed and pulled the book closer to her eyes. “Hell no. I’m finishing this if it kills me.”

It was quiet for another moment while Angelica forced herself to figure out the basics of the ending. Theo waited to talk again until Angelica put away her work. 

“So, Angie,” she said breezily, “Um… how are you?”

“Fine,” said Angie carefully. Where did this come from?

“You haven’t been talking to me,” said Theo bluntly.

“What do you mean?” Said Angelica hesitantly. She knew she was getting into a losing battle here. “We sit together every day at lunch, I say hi in the halls.”

“But you’ve been acting different.”

“I’m just tired. Lots going on with… you know… debate and journalism and stuff…”

“Angie, look. You’re obviously pissed off about something. I’m thinking I’m involved somehow, because usually you never shut up to me, and I know our thing on Monday ended on… awkward terms,” she said, her voice cool.

Angelica felt Theo’s eyes on her and forced herself to look up. Theo leaned in and lowered her voice.

“Angie, I’m not even sure if we’re friends. I mean, we certainly haven’t been acting friendly,” she said, running a hand through her curls. “I know we’re in a weird situation with the fake dating thing, especially since we seem to have lost track of what’s fake and what’s real in this agreement. But I’d appreciate it if you at least faked being up front with me, too.”

Angelica felt her stomach freeze, Theo’s speech replaying too loudly in her head for her to notice the bell ring. Theo kept her defiant eyes locked on Angelica until study hall kids started to fill the library. Then, after quick glances to the sides, she leaned in swiftly and kissed Angelica on the lips.

Angelica barely registered what was going on. In the same instant, something in her brain told her to step back and something else told her to pull Theo closer, but it only lasted a split second before Theo turned away and stalked out of the library without a glance back, her bag slung casually over one shoulder. 

Angelica was fuming all through her last class. She knew Theo well enough to know that every word, every second of eye contact, everything down to the kiss was planned. Theo knew how to pack a punch, and Angelica hated how well it had worked. The kiss, the half second of fire on her lips, had looked like nothing but a show for the students flooding the library, but Angelica knew that Theo had also timed it for maximum agony on her part. Theo knew Angelica would replay it and wonder if there was any sort of romance behind it or just pure annoyance and Angelica's behavior. She was completely right. 

Her thoughts were still a jumbled, angry mess on the bus ride home. She made a plan to raid the kitchen and storm up to her room to wallow in self pity, only to hear someone already clattering pots and pans inside. That was odd – the high school got out before the others, and her parents were both at work, so she was usually the first one home.  

“Dad?” She asked, leaning around the corner. The man stood up and closed the cabinet with a grin. 

“Guess again, sis.”

“ _P_ __h_ ilip?!”  _ Angelica broke into a smile and launched herself into her brother’s arms for a tight hug, her worries pushed quickly (but temporarily) to the back of her mind. It had been months since she’d seen him in person, since he’d spent the summer and first semester of his Sophomore year studying abroad in France and hadn’t had a chance to visit yet. His hoodie was soft and comforting, and Angelica was hit suddenly by how much she’d missed him.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” She sighed, pulling away. “Why now, though?”

“Well, I happened to have my afternoon class cancelled today, so I got a bus from New York to come visit for a weekend,” he said. “Don’t get too excited, I have to go back Sunday night.”

“It’s better than nothing,” she said. 

“Yeah, that was my thinking,” said Philip, setting a pot on the stove. “I told dad I was coming this morning. Mom still doesn’t know, I thought I’d make it a surprise and cook dinner.”

“She’ll love that,” said Angelica. She spotted a brown paper bag on the dining room table. “What’s this?”

“Oh, stuff I brought back from France for you guys,” he said. He pulled out four small light pink candles. “These are for mom, they smell amazing. I got her this French cookbook too,” he said, laying the wrapped rectangular box on the table, “And this one’s for you.” He handed Angelica a small gift bag. 

“I can’t believe you wrapped all this,” she muttered, pushing aside the tissue paper and pulling out a package of cookies with French lettering. 

“These are the bomb, I had to bring you some,” he said, pointing at the box. “And there’s one more thing in the bag.”

Angelica carefully withdrew the next object – a photo of her, Philip, and Ellie arm-in-arm on the steps of the capitol building from last spring, just before he left for France. The picture was set in an elegant wooden frame with dainty flowers and vines carved into it. 

“I bought it from an artist at a market in the Alps,” Philip explained. “I got one for Ellie,  too.”

“This is so pretty, Philip,” said Angelica, smiling at the picture. “Thanks.” She hugged  him again.

“Okay, now I really have to get dinner started. I was thinking potato soup?”

The door swung open before Angelica could respond, and Ellie entered, dropping her backpack on the floor with a loud  _thud_. She stopped and frowned slightly at the sight of Angelica at the table. 

“Angie! You’re not in your room.”

“Good observation,” said Angelica, smirking.

“I’ve barely seen you all week, I thought you moved in with Theo or something,” said Ellie sarcastically. The sudden reminder of her situation made Angelica’s mood plummet again, but Philip’s laughter from the kitchen brought it back up. 

“Who’s in the kitchen?” Asked Ellie. 

Philip leaned out of the doorway with a grin. “Hey, El.”

Ellie’s mouth dropped open in delighted surprise. “Oh! Hi!”

“‘Oh hi’ after seven months?” Said Philip in mock disappointment.

“Sorry,” she laughed as Philip lifted her off her feet in a bear hug. “You’re home!”

“Just for the weekend,” he said, setting her down. “Hey, there’s a little box in that brown bag with your name on it. You want to check it out?”

Ellie found her gift and carefully peeled the tape off the wrapping paper to unfold it, lifting out the same framed picture as Angelica’s and a silver bracelet with a red glass gem on it, which Angelica helped her put on. Ellie studied the picture for a moment.

“Thank, Philip,” she said, hugging her brother again. “I’m gonna go put this on my wall,” she declared, already racing upstairs with her picture.

Philip talked as soon as she was out of earshot. 

“So why does Ellie think you moved in with Theo?”

“She’s exaggerating,” said Angelica quickly. “I’ve just been busy this week and she hasn’t seen me much.”

“You’ve just been busy?”

“Yeah,” said Angelica casually. 

“How’s Theo?”

“What makes you think this is at all related to her? I can handle things with her myself.”

“I’m sure you can, I’m just genuinely curious,” he said, “And unless I’m forgetting  something, you were calling me about once a day last week to ask for advice about her.”

“It was not once a day!”

“Whatever. Really, how are things with her?”

Angelica hesitated just long enough for Philip to know something was wrong. 

“Angie? What’d she do?”

“No, no, it’s nothing she did, we just… had a little argument. Well, no, not an argument. I’ve just… kind of been blowing her off this week for a few different reasons. And then she finally confronted me about it today and it was… awkward.”

“Why were you upset at her?”

“I wasn’t upset, I was just being distant because I thought I was acting too… attached.”

“You’re supposed to act like you’re dating, though, shouldn’t you look attached?”

Angelica could see no way to tell Philip why they weren’t getting along without admitting her feelings for Theo, but she was too stubborn not to try. 

“I think I freaked her out because I was acting too into her,” she said, conveniently not mentioning that the incident she had in mind had happened when there was no one around to act for. 

“What did you do?” Asked Philip. 

“Nothing, really. We just… we were in a situation where no one was around and I acted more… affectionate than I needed to.”

“So you did something when you two were alone and you think Theo figured out you like her?”

“Yeah, basically, and then she just got up and- wait,” said Angelica, stopping herself when she saw Philip holding in laughter. “Wait, no, no, I didn’t mean that, that’s not what happened, I don’t even actually like her-”

“You’re a terrible liar,” said Philip, grinning. “Wow, that was easier to get you to admit than I thought it would be.”

“Well, I’m tired. I’m avoiding your questions while running on about two hours of sleep, and it’s hard even with a solid eight.”

“So you like her, and you think she noticed it and freaked out, so you’re being distant to try and make her think you really don’t like her. Did I get all that?”

Angelica groaned, defeated. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Angie, that’s… that might not be such a great idea.”

“Got anything better?”

“Yes, actually,” he said, waiting for an invitation to continue.

“Well, I’m sure I’m about to hear it whether I want to or not,” deadpanned Angelica.

“You got that right,” he said, setting a bag of potatoes and a peeler on the counter. “You  peel, I’ll share my genius.”

Angelica rolled her eyes and started on a potato. “Okay, what’s your grand plan?”

Philip leaned against the counter next to Angelica. “Just… talk to her. You go up to her, tell her you’re sorry if you made her nervous, but you really like her and you want to know how she feels.”

“That does the exact opposite of what I’m trying to accomplish here.”

“Have you considered that she might actually like you?”

“She gets all awkward whenever I get even a little bit flirty with her!”

“What if she gets awkward because she’s nervous?”

“Yeah, nervous because she never planned on me actually liking her and now she has to worry about it.”

“Angie, you’re just making things up. And if she really does like you, she’s going to be put off by you being silent and distant.”

Angelica sighed overdramatically. “Philip, as wonderfully attractive as I am, I have no idea why Theo would’ve asked to fake-date if she wanted to actually date.”

“I don’t know, there could be a bunch of reasons. Maybe she-”

Angelica cut him off by throwing two potatoes worth of peelings at him. 

“I’m just being helpful!” He protested, shaking a peel from his hair and tossing the mess into the garbage can. 

“Let’s talk about your love life. Any sexy French girls make their way back to Columbia in your suitcase?”

“Of course not, Angie, I’m a gentleman. I would at least buy them a seat on the plane.”

“I’m sure you would,” said Angelica. She was only half kidding – she wouldn’t put it past her brother to charm someone into coming home with him. 

“And I would also talk to them and be honest about my feelings instead of beating around the bush,” Philip added. 

“Well, gold star for you, then,” said Angelica, aggressively banging the bowl of potatoes down next to him. “I’ve got homework, but let me know if you want more help with dinner.”

“Will do. Thanks for peeling,” said Philip, taking the bowl. 

Angelica couldn’t help but smile as she ran upstairs. Philip’s advice may have been shit, but she loved him more than anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I'd mentioned this before, but Philip goes to Columbia University. Also, on a somewhat related note, I'm most likely going to make this fic part of a series because I have an idea for something else in this universe that I'm super (SUPER) excited about and dying to write.
> 
> Also! I was in the Theodosia/Angelica tag today and there are like??? 15 fics??? Which makes me so ridiculously happy because I love these nerds and when I started writing this the tag was a dark corner with like 3 things in it. I'm slowly working my way through all of them rn. 
> 
> As usual, comments and feedback are my life source! You can also come obsess with me on tumblr @thefourthschuyler if ya want!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I coming back after four months of not updating and dropping another chapter on y'all? Heck yeah I am. This has been sitting in my drive mostly done for so freaking long, but I just sort of... didn't update. I'm the worst, I know... sorry *slinks into the corner in shame*. The good news is, I have the last few chapters done and ready to go, so I'm just going to dump them all on you over the next 3ish days. So here's the beginning of the end, for anyone who even remembers what was going on!

Angelica stayed up way too late talking to Philip, interrogating him about his life at Columbia. She didn’t regret it until halfway through pre-calc, when her eyelids started drooping and the numbers started blurring together. She copied the notes from the board without processing any meaning, not that it made too much sense even when she was paying attention.  
  
She left the room and walked slowly towards the library. Today was it – the last lunch she would share with Theo before Monday, their arranged fake-breakup day. Angelica wasn’t sure what she dreaded more, the idea of going to lunch with Theo after her outburst the day before or the idea of not spending lunch with her.  
  
“Angelica! Hey!”  
  
Angelica spun around in surprise to see a sophomore from journalism, Victoria, hurrying towards her.  
  
“Hey, Victoria, what’s up?”  
  
She pushed her hair back and started talking rapidly. “I know this is super last-minute but I’m writing this thing for the paper on the school board’s budget and it’s super complicated so I was wondering if you could look over it quick? I mean, if you’re not busy.”  
  
Angelica glanced down the hallway and saw Theo at the other end, making her way towards the library. She shot a smile at Victoria.  
  
“Nope, no plans. Let’s look at that article.”

 

Angelica only felt a little bad for ditching Theo, but Theo didn’t text to ask about it or seek her out at all, which she tried not to be disappointed by. She knew she would have to talk to Theo at some point, and the idea was both nerve-wracking and appealing. She just wasn’t up for it quite yet, and anyway, she wanted to enjoy her weekend with Philip. Theo could wait until Monday. They wouldn’t even have to see each other over the weekend.  
  
Philip was waiting for her when Angelica got home, studying on the couch with notebooks and pens scattered around him.  
  
“Hey,” he said, grinning up at her. “How was your day?”  
  
“Oh my god, it was fucking long,” Angelica groaned, dropping her backpack on the floor and flopping in an armchair. “And Monday is gonna be total hell.”  
  
“Mondays are always hell.”  
  
“Monday’s the breakup day,” Angelica mumbled, looking out the window. “Like I need everything to be more awkward.”  
  
Philip frowned and moved out of his nest of papers to perch on the arm of her chair, studying her face carefully.  
  
“Angie, be real with me. One honest answer,” He said quietly, trying to meet her eyes. Angelica said nothing. “Do you like Theo?”  
  
“No,” said Angelica firmly. _Maybe if I keep denying it, it’ll be true.  
_  
“Angie. C’mon. You can trust me.”  
  
Angelica hesitated for a split second, then jumped up and headed for the kitchen, hearing Philip get up from the chair to follow her.  
  
“Angie! We were having a sibling bonding moment!”  
  
“And now we’re not.”  
  
Philip pushed himself up to sit on the counter. “Well, I guess I’ll get answers tonight anyway,” he said, his voice carefully casual.  
  
“And why’s that?”  
  
“We’re having dinner guests.”  
  
“Why would that-” Angelica turned around to see Philip laughing on the counter, the meaning of his words hitting her like a bus. _“Fuck.”_  
  
“Want to help me start dinner?” asked Philip cheerfully.  
  
“No,” Angelica deadpanned, “I’m going to my room to wallow in self pity.”

 

Ever since Philip’s memorable first piano recital, in which he and Theodosia Burr had played the exact same song and no one had been able to decide who played it better, Alexander had had a slightly annoying habit of inviting the Burrs over for dinner to brag about the latest Hamilton family accomplishment. It was like a competition to see who could be more passive-aggressive. She should’ve known that Philip coming home would mean a dinner party.  
  
She usually didn’t mind them too much – just sitting through quietly and kicking her dad under the table when he started getting out of hand – but there was no way this wouldn’t be awkward. Maybe she would get lucky, just this once, and Burr would come alone without Theo. It was a long shot, but still, a girl can dream.  
  
At six o’clock sharp, the doorbell rang, filling Angelica with dread. She heard her mother’s voice welcoming the guests downstairs.  
  
“Mr. Burr, sir, it’s been so long! And how are you, Theodosia?”  
  
Well, there went the hopes for a miracle.  
  
Angelica took as much time as she possibly could slinking downstairs and slipping into the living room, where Philip was passing out an impressive plate of tiny sandwiches and drinks. Her father was sitting in one armchair facing the tall, collected, slightly stiff-looking Burr in the other, with Eliza on the rocking chair and – Angelica’s stomach flipped – the back of Theo’s head visible over the top of the couch. She heard the other kids’ voices laughing in the kitchen and wondered if she could get through to them without anyone noticing. As she was slipping towards the kitchen, though, her father’s voice interrupted her getaway.  
  
“Oh, and did I mention that Angelica will be working at Congress for a week this summer? Angelica, grab a seat, these sandwiches are delicious.”  
  
Angelica glanced up at Theo, and to her surprise, Theo grinned and gestured at the seat next to her on the couch. Angelica attempted a smile and sat down carefully, trying not to brush against Theo. Her plan imploded when Theo laced their fingers together, and she couldn’t help squeezing lightly back.  
  
“Angie, tell Aaron about your Congressional Aide thing,” said Alexander enthusiastically, waving a sandwich in the air to emphasize his speech.  
  
“Well, um,” said Angelica, trying not to panic about being in close proximity to Theo with both her parents, Burr, and Philip all watching. “I’ll just be following someone in Congress around for a week in July, emailing constituents and bringing them files and stuff.”  
  
“Philip did it a few years ago, too,” said Alexander. “He also made these sandwiches.”  
  
Philip smiled politely and took a seat on Angelica’s other side. She deliberately avoided meeting his eyes.  
  
“That’s lovely,” said Aaron, in a careful, cheery voice. “I imagine landing a summer job with Congress isn’t too difficult when your father’s in the government.”  
  
“Well, I’m sure the name ‘Hamilton’ helps out. People like me, you know,” he said, apparently mistaking Aaron’s forced smile as a genuine one.  
  
“That’s true in some circles,” said Aaron, his light expression looking more forced by the minute.  
  
“Enough to keep me in a good job where the important decisions happen,” said Alexander. This was turning into a cold war.  
  
Eliza was looked more and more concerned as the conversation wore on, and Philip hastily interrupted a few times to offer more sandwiches and drink refills. Angelica usually thought the tension was pretty amusing, but she wasn’t able to concentrate on much besides Theo leaning closer and closer to her and keeping their hands locked together. At least the others were mostly focusing on keeping Burr and her father from starting a third world war, and not on Angelica and Theo.  
  
As soon as the conversation got heated enough that no one would notice, Theo turned to Angelica and said in a low voice, “I know you’re probably ready for me to fall off a building at this point, but we’re still fake dating and I’m gonna play it the hell up. This’ll be so entertaining.”  
  
Angelica raised her eyebrows slightly, incredulous. How was this the same girl who stalked away with no explanation when anything between them seemed like it might not be platonic? How was she okay with this, but not with conversations that were even a little bit personal?  
  
“We can talk later,” she said in response to Angelica’s confusion, sitting back with a satisfied look on her face. Philip smirked and Angelica behind Theo’s head, and Angelica hoped her glare was enough to freeze hell over.

The full family was eventually ushered into the dining room, and Philip and Ellie (who had somehow landed a spot at the adult table) carried out a large chicken pasta dish and more sides than anyone really needed. Angelica was still trying to out-glare Philip when she heard her name again.  
  
“Angie, can you pass me the rolls?” said Theo, laying a hand gently on Angelica’s arm.  
  
“Yeah,” Angelica mumbled, taking the basket her mother handed her and passing it on. She ignored her mother’s knowing smile as best she could.  
  
“How’s school, Angie?” Ellie asked casually.  
  
“Um. It’s fine,” she answered, very aware of Theo’s hand, which had fallen to Angelica’s thigh.  
  
“Where were you at lunch today?” asked Theo lightly. Her smile was bright, but Angelica saw the challenge in her eyes.  
  
“I had journalism stuff,” she said.  
  
“Yes, Angelica’s very involved in the paper,” said Alexander, jumping in again, apparently oblivious to any sort of tension. “What position do you have now?”  
  
“I’m head editor,” said Angelica.  
  
“Philip was pretty involved, too,” said Alexander, raising an eyebrow at Philip and prompting him to speak.  
  
“Yeah, I had a few pieces published in the local paper and I did some writing in France, too.”  
  
“That’s great,” said Burr, also smiling. “Theodosia’s never quite been interested in journalism… what’s that club you run, again?”  
  
“Literary magazine. I’m head editor, too,” she said with a hint of pride in her voice.  
  
“Interesting,” said Alexander, nodding. “Do you contribute to the magazine?”  
  
“Not usually, I like being behind-the-scenes.”  
  
“Ah, of course. Though, some people end up learning the hard way that that doesn’t always work out,” said Alexander, shooting a glance at Burr.  
  
“Did I mention I was invited to dinner with Jefferson last night?” asked Burr, raising his eyebrows.  
  
“No, you didn’t,” said Alexander. “Did he invite you before or after you published the blog post in favor of his work? I didn’t know he knew you from anywhere. He’s pretty high-up, you know. Secretary of State and all.”  
  
“Well, I guess I’m more well-connected than you think I am,” said Burr tensely.  
  
This was how the dinners always went – after Alexander got bored with shining the spotlight on his kids, he’d reclaim it himself. His bickering with Burr could go on all night. Though this time, Angelica was a little distracted from the escalating passive-aggressive attacks by Theo slowly stroking her thigh with a thumb.  
  
Angelica knew she was getting some looks from her family members. She had to get out, and she couldn’t take this anymore – she had to talk to Theo and figure out what was going on.  
  
“Do you want to take a walk?” she whispered, standing up from her chair.  
  
“Aw, c’mon, this is just getting good.”  
  
“I feel like something’s about to catch fire.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s scientifically possible.”  
  
Angelica laced her fingers into Theo’s and pulled her up. Angelica caught her mother’s knowing smirk and a few raised eyebrows from around the table. “We’re going on a quick walk,” said Angelica, tugging Theo towards the door before anyone could stop them.

Once they were out the door, Theo burst into laughter.  
  
“There! That’s how you effectively use fake-dating to make parents uncomfortable.”  
  
“I’m glad that got your approval,” said Angelica, grinning and hurrying down the street. “I swear, our dads are like toddlers.”  
  
“Violent toddlers. Aggressive toddlers.”  
  
After the laughter died off, both girls seemed to remember that there had been a solid wall of awkward between them for the last few days. Angelica took a deep breath and braced herself for what was sure to be an uncomfortable conversation.  _Here we go._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up tomorrow :) Comments and kudos fuel me. Come yell at me about not updating in months and also about this hell musical @thefourthschuyler on tumblr.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS IT GUYS. This fic took like... six months... and I'm not entirely happy with it but I might as well finish it out, right? So, here's the last chapter! (it's a little short but I felt like that was all there was to say)

The evening was cold, but not too cold for Angelica’s few layers of sweaters, and the sun was just disappearing over the horizon. A good winter night for a walk, really. 

“So,” Angelica said carefully after a few minutes of walking in tense silence, “This has been… you know. Weird. Recently. Since we hung out in the middle of the night.”

Theo didn’t say anything. 

“Theo, I think we just need to talk. I need to talk.” 

“What else is new,” Theo muttered under her breath. Angelica rolled her eyes, ignoring the comment.

“I just… I thought we were getting along okay for a while, and then you just started, you know, walking out of conversations. Kissing me to make a point for the audience.”

Still no response. 

_ I just have to spell it out for her.  _

“Theo, I like spending time with you, I love talking to you. That night, that was… it felt personal.”

Theo finally responded, her voice quiet and deep.. 

“I know I sort of ditched you that night.”

“Yeah, you did. And that’s okay, I get it. I get that I was…” Angelica trailed off. If she was going to tell Theo her feelings, now was the time. 

“Theo, listen. I liked that night. I liked the other day in the library, even – I mean – even you kissing me. I liked whatever was going on, and I think maybe I read it wrong or something because I was  – well, am – sort of… actually into you. Like, romantically, in a not-fake way.”

Theo stopped walking, coming to a slow stop under a streetlamp. She scuffed the toe of her boot against the ground, looking down. Angelica took another breath. 

“I know you probably already realized that, and I know that’s probably why you were uncomfortable, but–”

“Angie, I didn’t know. I didn’t notice, I thought.. _. _ ” 

Angelica looked up in surprise. Theo’s voice was hushed, slightly shaky. 

“Then that night, why did you just… leave? Why do you keep ducking out of conversations like you’re scared of me?”

“I was nervous,” said Theo under her breath. 

“Why?”

“Angie, are you really playing the ‘why’ game with me?” asked Theo in slight exasperation. “I haven’t had to do that since I babysat.”

Angelica laughed nervously. “No, I just really don’t get what made you so nervous, just straight-up leaving any conversation that got personal.”

Theo reached out and grabbed Angelica’s wrist, pulling her a step closer. “Angelica Hamilton, you are literally the most clueless person I’ve ever met.”

“Theo, just-” Angelica’s voice fell away as she met Theo’s intense dark eyes, her expression still unreadable. 

“Theo, are you-”

And suddenly Angelica realized that Theo was closer – her eyes were fluttering closed –  _ What? What? What? Is she  _ – 

And then Theo’s lips were pressing gently to hers, soft as silk. This was nothing like the kiss in the library, deliberate and for an audience. This was unplanned and it was just Theo’s and just Angelica’s. Angelica shifted her hands cautiously to Theo’s waist, trying to think something other than  _ holy shit oh my god Theo fucking Burr is kissing me _ . Theo was letting her hands drift over Angelica’s shoulders, pulling her closer. 

And it was over, and Theo was a few inches away again, her hands falling to tangle with Angelica’s. 

“What was that for?” Angelica breathed, because  _ there must be a catch… _

“That,” Theo said, the corners of her lips quirking into a smile, “was for me.”

“Just you?”

“I guess for you, too.” 

Angelica laughed a bit, breathless and exhilarated. She ran her hands up Theo’s arms, locking her fingers behind the other girl’s neck. 

“So we’re not fake-breaking up?” asked Angelica. 

“I think we’re real-getting together, Angie. If you want.”

Angelica took a breath and pressed her lips to Theo’s again, soft and intense and careful, feeling hot breath against her in the cool air, smooth skin sliding under her lips and her fingers grasping Theo’s sweatshirt as Theo pulled her closer, pressing their bodies together. Angelica pulled back, keeping her eyes closed and holding Theo close. 

“I think that would be nice, Theo.”

 

They tried to get back in time for Burr to still be there so it wouldn’t be as awkward, but it seemed like Angelica’s father had scared him away faster than usual that night. Eliza and Philip were in the kitchen loading the dishwasher, and the other kids had vanished to the backyard or their bedrooms. Philip looked up when the pair walked in, hands locked, eyes shining. Angelica couldn’t even manage a death glare. 

Eliza glanced up, completely cool except for a tiny smirk. “Oh, good, you’re back! Theodosia, your father headed home a few minutes ago. We thought you girls might be out for a while…” - she made pointed eye contact with Philip - “so he said to just tell you to walk home when you got back.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Schuyler. You can call be Theo, by the way,” she said, leaning easily in the kitchen doorway. “Want any help with the dishes?”

“I think we’ve got it covered,” said Philip quickly.

“And your dad’s expecting you home soon,” added Eliza. “You might want to get going.”

Angelica felt herself blushing at her family’s obvious attempts to get Theo out of the house – probably so Philip could interrogate her – but Theo didn’t seem to notice. 

“Right. Well, I’ll start walking then. Thanks so much for dinner.”

“Of course,” said Eliza, “you’re welcome any tiime.”

“I’ll just, um, walk with Theo a little,” said Angelica, hurrying after her before Philip could capture her for questioning. 

 

It was snowing again when the girls got outside, fat wet flakes floating down around them, getting caught in Theo’s cloud of hair for a few seconds before they melted. There was the silence that only comes with late-night snow, and neither girl broke it until they got to the corner and stopped under the streetlight.

“I guess I should get home,” said Angelica, reluctant to let go of Theo’s hand. 

“Me too,” said Theo. “We can’t have my dad thinking we’ve eloped.”

“No, I guess not.”

Angelica glanced around, unsure how to end this night. “Well, I’ll, um, see you Monday?”

“Yeah,” said Theo. “Guess so.”

“Cool,” said Angelica, and then immediately cursed herself.  _ Cool? _

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

Angelica carefully dropped Theo’s hand and took a step back.  _ I will be calm and cool and not freak out until I’m around the corner,  _ she thought. 

And then gave up on that and rushed back to pull Theo into one last kiss.

Theo let out a muffled laugh before kissing back, hard, letting her hands rest on Angelica’s cheeks. 

“You’re ridiculous, Angie.”

“Shut up, you love me.”

“Yeah, well,” said Theo, “Guilty as charged, I guess.”

 

Angelica finally made it home (alone) and managed to get all the way to her room before being ambushed. Philip was already sitting on her bed. 

“What happened to knocking?”

“I don’t have to knock if you’re not here.”

“Where are your manners?”

“Angie.”

“Yeah?”

“So…?”

Angelica sat down in her swivel chair. 

“Yeah?”

“Angie, you were out with Theo for, like, hours. As your loving older brother, I deserve every detail.”

Angelica tried to find a snarky comment, but her lips quirked into a smile. She could barely string full sentences together. 

“Fine, whatever. Um. We’re together, I think. Like, actually. We kissed. A few times. And… I told her I like her. So.”

Philip leaped off the bed.

“You’re  _ together? _ ”

Angelica grinned. “Yeah, seems like it.”

“Good,” said Philip, “I was getting sick of being your relationship counselor.”

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Really?”

“No, I probably could’ve done it better without you.” Philip threw a pillow at his sister. 

“So, now that you know every detail of my love life,” said Angelica, “Want to tell me who you’re texting?”

“Wow, is that the time?” said Philip, exaggeratedly checking his watch. “Well, gotta blast. Night, Angie!”

Angelica rolled her eyes, too tired and happy to put up a fight. 

“Night, Philip.”

It may have been two of the most hectic weeks of Angelica’s life, but at least the weeks and months to come would make up for it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand... done. Tell me what you thought in comments/on tumblr @thefourthschuyler! feedback and kudos give me life. Thanks to everyone for reading and giving me really supportive comments, you guys rock <3


End file.
